Carbon and forests

Research from leading scientists at the Australian National University shows that Australia has some of the most carbon-dense forests on Earth.

The towering Mountain Ash forests of the Central Highlands—targeted for logging to make office paper products like Reflex—are especially carbon-dense, storing up to 10,000 tonnes of carbon per hectare. Every time a tree is logged, this carbon is released into the atmosphere, making climate change worse.

If left unlogged for 100 years, forests like these have the potential to sequester carbon equivalent to 25% of current annual emissions! This makes intact, unlogged forests critical to solving climate change. An end to logging of the carbon-rich eucalypt forests in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania will ensure these forests play their crucial role in Australia’s fight against climate change.

Why are Victoria's forests so important?

An ANU scientific publication has pulled together findings from research conducted in Australia and overseas over the past 10 years and developed a new methodology for measuring the 'carbon carrying capacity’ of Australia’s forests and woodlands. Key findings include:

Logging reduces the carbon stores in a natural forest by 40-60%

The largest, oldest trees contain up to 54% of carbon stored in these forest ecosystems